Building the Team
by quicksilversquared
Summary: It's time for the Miraculous superhero team to expand a bit, and that means selecting new holders. That's always a bit of a process, and then training the newbies in can be a struggle all by itself. Will the new superheroes fit in with the team? (contains season 2 spoilers)
1. Chapter 1

_This story does contain references to some fairly old S2 spoilers (plus a reference to a (relatively) newer spoiler that may or may not just be a rumor), so if you have somehow managed to avoid all spoilers (if so, impressive work) and wish to continue avoiding said spoilers, consider this your heads-up._

* * *

Marinette stared at the two Miraculous boxes in front of her and the kwamis floating above them. Master Fu had given them to her to assign to new holders- even though she and Chat Noir were doing well so far, with the Peacock Miraculous still missing and probably in Hawkmoth's hands, they would need backup at some point. And if not- if the Peacock had somehow miraculously just _stayed_ missing- then they could use the help to have shorter fights, or maybe figure something out so that they didn't _all_ have to go out to every fight.

She had to admit, the latter option sounded _really_ good. Her attendance record could definitely use some help.

 _But who to choose?_

"I want a _curious_ holder," Trixx offered, seeing Marinette's furrowed brow. "I think with a curious holder and my powers, we could potentially figure out where Hawkmoth's hideout is and maybe strike before he can find someone to be Paon. So someone curious and smart and brave."

"Not asking for much there, huh?" Pollen asked with a snort, flopping down on top of the bee comb and crossing her arms as she rolled her eyes at Trixx. "Wow."

"Actually..." Marinette said slowly, biting her lip as she thought. Who fit Trixx's requests perfectly and would _love_ to be a superhero? It wasn't exactly a hard question. She had thought of Alya first when she tried to give up being Ladybug, way back when she had just started. The only thing that was holding her back now was the fact that Alya was perhaps a little _too_ curious.

If Alya had a Miraculous, what would stop her from renewing her efforts to discover Ladybug's identity?

"Who are you thinking of?" Tikki asked curiously, landing on Marinette's shoulder. "Remember, kwamis will help their holders with personal growth. They don't have to be perfect to start."

"Well...I kind of want to give the fox Miraculous to Alya," Marinette said slowly. "But could she grow fast enough to understand why she shouldn't be trying to figure out who Chat Noir and I are?"

"I can knock some sense into anyone," Trixx claimed, bouncing in place. "Tikki, tell me about the kit I'm gonna have."

" _Trixx_."

"C'mon! Please, Tikki, _please-_ "

"Alya is my best friend," Marinette cut across. "She runs the Ladyblog- oh, _no_. How is she supposed to keep the blog going while she's a superhero? If she stopped, that would draw a _lot_ of attention."

"Marinette's friend runs around after akuma fights to record them using her phone," Tikki told Trixx. "And then she posts things on her blog, the Ladyblog. It wouldn't be a huge problem if it wasn't for the fact that the Ladyblog is the biggest Ladybug and Chat Noir-focused blog out there. Pretty much everyone in the city reads it."

Trixx wriggled, looking excited. "Is she a reporter, then? Please tell me she's a reporter. They make the best kits."

"She's a reporter," Marinette confirmed. "But if she suddenly has to stop taking videos to be a superhero, and if she isn't seen near fights anymore..."

"We can work around it," Trixx promised, wriggling around so much Marinette was almost worried that she was going to fall straight out of the air. "An illusion could carry an actual cell phone and do all of the recording. It's the best cover, really. No one is gonna suspect her."

"And if the illusion gets bumped?" Marinette asked. It sounded too good to be true, which meant that she had to ask _lots_ of questions. "With Volpina- er, the akuma designed after the Fox holder- all we had to do to get rid of her illusions was to hit them with something. The reporters can crowd in pretty close after fights sometimes- there wouldn't be any way that the illusion wouldn't be hit too!"

"We could figure something out," Trixx insisted. "And once she's been fighting for a bit, she'll be able to make more stable illusions that _don't_ vanish when they get hit. C'mon, c'mon, let me have the reporter kit!"

Marinette had to smile. Trixx certainly was energetic, to say the least. "Okay. If you think you could figure something out, then I'll consider that settled. I'll slip your box into Alya's bag tomorrow. That just leaves Pollen." She glanced over at the bee kwami. Her eyes were a bit disorienting, to say the least. Instead of being even remotely similar to a human's eyes, they were completely blue. "Do you have any requests for traits in a Chosen?"

Pollen sniffed. "Well, _I'm_ not picky like _some_ people." She shot a glance over at Trixx, who was completely focused on Marinette's phone, where she had pulled up the Ladyblog. If Trixx had heard Pollen's jab, she wasn't showing it. "But I like a challenge. I like the problematic holders that need a kick in the butt. All the others talk about _growth_ and everything, but _their_ holders start out all nice and responsible."

Marinette blinked at that. "You want someone... who _isn't_ nice?"

"It's more fun."

Marinette bit her lip, immediately nervous. She didn't really know if she _wanted_ a teammate that wasn't nice. And what if she chose someone who _couldn't-_ or, rather, _wouldn't_ \- change? What if she was stuck with a pain of a teammate forever?

This was too much responsibility. Why was Master Fu making her do this, again?

"The advantage you have is that if they end up being _really_ bad, you know who it is and you could potentially take the Miraculous back," Tikki said quickly, spotting the beyond stressed expression on Marinette's face. "It wouldn't be the first time it's happened. Not all matches are perfect. But Pollen is _really_ good at slapping some sense into people."

"If you have anyone who causes a lot of akumas, they could be a good candidate," Pollen offered. "That might make them think twice about being mean when they have to deal with the fallout."

Marinette's expression turned thoughtful. "Someone who causes a lot of akumas, you say? Hmm."

 _That_ was certainly something to think about.

* * *

It really wasn't hard at all for Marinette to slip the fox Miraculous into Alya' bag without her friend noticing. Alya had had Marinette hold her bag for a minute while she made a quick post on the Ladyblog on her phone before going home on the end of the day, and it only took Marinette a second to slip the box into Alya's bag.

Marinette could only pray that Alya would notice the box once she was alone, and not when she was with her sisters or her parents. Maybe she should have tried to slip the box into Alya's room, but that _still_ didn't guarantee that Alya would be the one to find it.

(Her little sisters didn't exactly have a handle on the concept of privacy, and Alya complained at least once a week about her sisters rummaging through her things.)

"I think that's going to be a good match," Tikki said, peering out of Marinette's purse after Alya and Marinette had bid each other goodbye for the day and Marinette was heading back to the bakery. "How soon do you think we'll see her out?"

Marinette had to grin. "Probably by tonight. She'll be out running the rooftops- oh." Her face fell. "Oh, _no_. I should have told Chat Noir about there being new users! He's gonna think that Volpina came back. Oooh, I should have waited a day before giving the Miraculous to Alya. Do you think that there's some way for me to contact Chat Noir before he sees Alya out?"

"Make an akuma," Tikki suggested. At Marinette's alarmed look, she giggled. "I'm just kidding, Marinette! If you go out for a run, Chat Noir might come join you."

 _That_ wasn't a bad idea, Marinette decided as she entered the bakery and waved to her mother as she passed through. She had a decently good idea of where Chat Noir was most likely to see her, based on how long it took for him to show up when she was out and about, either for akuma attacks or for fun. It would be important to go out sooner rather than later, since Alya probably wouldn't wait long before transforming and getting out and about.

Marinette couldn't _believe_ she had messed up like that. She definitely knew perfectly well that she would _hate_ being left out of the loop about a new team member coming on board to join them, so why had she forgotten to tell Chat Noir?

That was _so. stupid._

"At least you remembered that before Alya actually transformed and Chat Noir ran into her on his own," Tikki pointed out as Marinette slumped into her room. "And really, you aren't the only one who forgot. I should have thought of it, and Trixx and Pollen could have mentioned something as well. We all have _centuries_ more experience than you do, and we made the same mistake."

"He's gonna wonder why I didn't consult with him at all," Marinette groaned, continuing on up the stairs to her balcony so she could transform and start tracking down Chat Noir. She paused. "...should I ask him about the bee Miraculous?"

"If you _really_ want to," Tikki said a bit dubiously. "But I think your choice will end up being... well, interesting, at least. There should be fewer akumas at school, I think. But it'll probably be hard to explain why you chose that person."

"Yeah, Pollen is...different," Marinette agreed, pausing at her bed. She kind of wished that she could be a fly on the wall when Pollen met her Chosen, because she was positive that it would be a million levels of hilarious. "It would be hard to explain without him meeting her, but if he asks, I can try. It'll probably take some explaining."

"Well, it'll be easier to explain before Alya transforms and shows up," Tikki reminded her. "Trixx isn't active yet, but we don't know how long she'll stay that way."

Marinette shot upright. "Of course! Tikki, transform me!"

* * *

It didn't take a lot of jumping around before Ladybug was joined by Chat Noir. He looked a bit puzzled as he landed next to her.

"Um, is there an akuma out here somewhere?" Chat Noir asked, frowning as he glanced around. "I mean, I'm glad to see you outside of attacks and all, but I have somewhere that I'm supposed to be in five minutes, and if there's not an attack then I don't really want to be late for no reason, you know?"

"Right, right, of course," Ladybug said quickly, knowing full well what Chat Noir was saying. She didn't exactly like being late to things when it wasn't the fault of an akuma attack. "Um, there's no akuma, but I had to tell you something important and I should have told you first before giving anything out but I forgot and Tikki forgot and I was in a hurry and I just realized ten minutes ago that I hadn't told you because I forgot and anywaythere'sanewmiraculousholder."

Chat Noir blinked at her, clearly bemused. "Uh..."

Ladybug fidgeted.

"Can you repeat that, but, like, slower?" Chat Noir asked, tilting his head as he looked at her. "Like, not the entire thing, but just that last bit?"

Ladybug hunched her shoulders, fixed her eyes on the ground, and, in a very quiet voice, repeated herself. "There's a new Miraculous holder. The fox. For real, this time."

Chat Noir paused, frowning just a bit. "...uh, how do you know that?"

Ladybug's eyes flicked up. Chat Noir didn't look upset, just confused. Still, she was nervous. They were _partners,_ and she should have told Chat Noir about both Master Fu and the Miraculous she was supposed to hand out.

For someone who always talked about how they were partners and equals, she sure hadn't acted like it.

"I met the guy who gave us our Miraculous," Ladybug admitted first. "My kwami told me to go to him after we recovered something that he had been looking for. And he's been teaching me a bit about the Miraculous. I... should have mentioned this all to you before, I'm sorry."

"If my kwami didn't tell me on his own, that's his fault, not yours," Chat Noir said firmly. "Maybe it's just more important that you learn some things first. But you said there's a new fox holder?"

"It's a real Miraculous," Ladybug told him first, because _she_ certainly hadn't known that there were others before she saw Adrien's book. "And the Guardian- that's the guy who gave us our Miraculous- said that we're doing a good job, but it would be good to have a few more superheroes out so that there's less pressure on us- and also in case Hawkmoth _does_ have this other missing Miraculous- it's a peacock, by the way- and gets someone to work with him."

"So he gave someone the fox Miraculous and told you about it- no?" Chat Noir questioned when he saw her shake her head. "He didn't give it out yet? No? Then-?"

"He gave me the Miraculous and asked me to find a new user."

Chat Noir just blinked at her.

"And I got to kind of interview the fox kwami- her name is Trixx, and she's _crazy_ mischievous- to get a feeling for what kind of holder she would work best with, and-"

"Ladybug, _breathe_ -"

"-she said that she wanted someone smart and inquisitive and that she really liked reporters, so-"

Chat Noir perked up. "You chose the Ladyblogger?"

Ladybug finally paused for a breath. "I- yeah."

Chat Noir looked pleased. "That's great! As long as she doesn't use that to try to figure out who we are. And- oh! What about the Ladyblog?"

"Trixx said that she would address the identity thing right away," Ladybug assured him. "And that Alya could use an illusion to run around with her phone to record things. I made sure Trixx was positive that that would work before I decided."

"Then she was a great choice, I think," Chat Noir assured her. "She's really sharp, and I think she'll fit in well." A small frown flitted across his face. "Uh, did you say that the Guardian said a _few_ more superheroes?"

... _of course Chat Noir would pick up on that._ She should have guessed. Her kitty was smart.

"Well, _two_ more," Ladybug corrected. "The fox, and the bee."

"Have you chosen someone for the bee?" Chat Noir asked. He looked curious and not at all resentful of her getting to be the one choosing new holders. Of course, he didn't know that she had chosen her best friend for one of the new Chosens. He might feel a little differently if he knew that. Chat Noir probably had friends that he would love to work with.

"I...yeah, I have," Ladybug admitted. "It's- that Miraculous- well, the kwami- it's a bit interesting. I haven't given it to her yet. I thought I might give it a couple days to let the fox settle in first."

"That's a good ide- AHH!" Chat suddenly screeched, checking his staff and jumping nearly a foot into the air when he saw the time. "I'm gonna be late! Can we have a patrol at ten tonight to talk more? I gotta go!"

"See you tonight, Chat Noir," Ladybug called, and with that her partner was off. He had a funny way of running when he was frazzled, she noticed with a snort. All high knees and pumping arms. _Dork_.

But at least he was an understanding dork. She had been worried about him being jealous that she was the one chosen to find new holders.

"All right, then," Ladybug announced to no one in particular. She let out a long breath. "Ten it is."

* * *

Adrien was more than a little distracted throughout the entirety of his fencing lesson, which meant that his classmates got in a few more hits than they normally would.

"Agreste, focus!" Mr. D'Argencourt yelled across the court. "I don't know what's with you today, but you're getting sloppy!"

Adrien winced behind his mask and yelled back a quick "Sorry!" before trying to focus on his opponent again. It was difficult, with how much his brain was racing. Why hadn't Plagg told him about this Grand Master person? How many Miraculous were there out there? How would it work to have not one, but _two_ people in the same classroom trying to leave for akuma attacks at the same time? That wasn't going to go well.

He had so many questions, and so few answers. He would have asked Ladybug more, but he was running short on time- and it wasn't her responsibility to tell him about all things Miraculous. Plagg should have been one to tell him about the Grand Master.

He didn't envy his Lady having to choose new Chosens, though. That was a _big_ responsibility, and he would probably end up stressing to no end as he tried to match people to a particular kwami. Even though he was a little concerned about having several Miraculous holders in the same class, Adrien couldn't deny that Alya was an _excellent_ choice. If he had had to choose a person who was smart and inquisitive...

Well, _all_ of his friends were smart in one form or another. He probably would have thought of either Alya or Marinette first, though; Alya because of her reporting, and Marinette because she always kept a calm head when there were akuma attacks. He would enjoy fighting alongside Nino, of course, but Nino _did_ have a tendency to get a bit more freaked out during the attacks.

"Agreste! Focus, or I'm coming over there and you and your distraction can face off against _me!_ "

Adrien yelped and jumped, tripping backwards and landing on his rear before scrambling back up to face his opponent again. He had let his concentration wander again, which was a stupid mistake. He needed to _focus_ until the end of fencing, which was...thirty more minutes.

This was going to be a _long_ practice.

* * *

Chat Noir's tail twitched slightly irritably as he paced the rooftops. Plagg had been frustratingly nonchalant about having not told him about the Grand Master- "But if you _really_ want to go see him, I _suppose_ I could tell you where to find him tomorrow, I think I might remember where he lives"- and he hadn't really felt like telling Adrien anything about the other kwamis.

Chat Noir might not envy Ladybug the task of assigning the other Miraculous, but he _was_ maybe just a little bit jealous that she got to meet other kwamis. What did the others look like? What were they like? Ladybug had said that Trixx was mischievous and the bee kwami was _interesting,_ whatever that meant.

This cat was _curious_.

"Chat Noir?"

Chat Noir spun around mid-pace, almost tripping over his own twitching tail in the process. Ladybug looked a bit nervous for some reason as she stood there, yo-yo clutched in her hands. It took him a second to realize that she was looking at his twitching tail, no doubt reading his irritation as easily as an open book. If he had been reading her earlier behavior correctly, then she was probably worrying about him being upset about... something. He wasn't entirely sure what that _something_ was, but he suspected that it probably had something to do with not sharing the information she had with him before.

"My kwami was being a bit of an ass," Chat Noir explained a bit hastily, stomping down on the end of his tail so it wouldn't be flicking around so much. "I was asking him stuff before I came out here and he was just like-" he imitated Plagg's nasal tone "'-oh, right, yeah, the Grand Master? I suppose I could tell you where he is. Other kwamis? Yeah, I forgot to mention that, didn't I?' He is _so_ frustrating."

Ladybug giggled, anxious expression falling away immediately. "Wow. I'm glad I got a cooperative kwami."

"What are the others like?" Chat Noir wanted to know. "You said you met two others?"

"I-" Ladybug's expression turned suddenly a bit uncertain, and then she smoothed out her features again. "I got to interview two others, yes. Trixx is really mischievous, and she was really specific for what she wanted in a holder. She seemed nice, but I bet she could be frustrating too sometimes. I'm gonna guess that she won't give Alya very many straight answers."

Chat Noir had to snort. It sounded like Trixx would get along well with Plagg. And he couldn't deny that the thought of Trixx stonewalling Alya like Plagg often did to him was _incredibly_ amusing.

"Pollen is frustrating too, but in a different way. She likes a _challenge_. She wanted a holder that _wasn't_ nice, one that she could make grow and learn. And she mentioned that if she had a Chosen that caused a lot of akumas, then that would maybe force them to take a little more responsibility and hopefully help them learn to be nicer."

Chat Noir's eyes widened and his eyes flashed towards the Grand Paris, still lit up despite the late hour. Someone who wasn't particularly nice and caused a lot of akumas? Surely she couldn't mean...?

* * *

Adrien couldn't deny that he was maybe just a _little_ bit torn about Ladybug picking Chloe.

On one hand, Chloe didn't particularly _deserve_ a Miraculous. Her behavior around other people was atrocious, to say the least, and she was probably their worst serial offender when it came to upsetting people to the point of akumatization. She didn't treat even Sabrina right, never mind the rest of the class or random strangers in the street. Whenever Ladybug was around, Chloe practically hung off of her, to the point that Ladybug had annoyance radiating off her in waves.

(Why Ladybug had picked Chloe when she clearly couldn't stand the other girl was an absolute mystery, but Adrien was proud of her for being able to put aside her personal feelings so she could even consider Chloe as a possible holder.)

On the other hand, Adrien was excited about his oldest friend getting a second chance at- well, at _life_ , really, as ridiculous as that sounded. Chloe hadn't been told _no_ by anyone (well, anyone she would listen to and respect) for far too long, and a kwami that wasn't afraid to sting when Chloe was being awful sounded perfect. Besides, Chloe was a _huge_ fan of the superheroes, and Ladybug in particular. Maybe they would eventually rub off on her and she would get back to the- well, not to a _nice_ person, because she hadn't been the easiest to get along with when she was younger, but at least a less _nasty_ person.

And, if all else failed, Ladybug's point about Chloe probably causing fewer akumas when she had to deal with them herself was a good one. If Adrien knew Chloe (and he really, really did), she would _not_ be happy about having to miss her manicures or hair stylist appointments or... whatever other appointments Chloe had during a typical month. Adrien _really_ couldn't keep track of everything.

The new holders were going to add a whole new dynamic to the team, but Adrien honestly couldn't wait.

* * *

 _This will be a two-chapter story (for once)! The second part will probably be up shortly._

 _Please review, it really makes my day!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Alya: OMG GIRL GIRL YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT JUST HAPPENED_

 _Alya: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT OMGOMGOMG_

 _Alya: oh wait never mind_

 _Alya: ignore that_

Marinette couldn't help but laugh at the messages. Alya must have just discovered the fox Miraculous in her bag, and apparently her first instinct was to text Marinette about it- which, admittedly, was the best-case scenario. If Alya had lunged for the Ladyblog or texted Nino instead, she would no doubt receive endless questions about what had happened. Since she had texted Marinette, though...

Well, she was still going to get questioned, because it would look suspicious otherwise. But Marinette was going to drop the topic a lot faster than anyone else would have.

 _Marinette: ? You can't just say something like that and leave me hanging!_

"It's a good opportunity to see how good she'll be with excuses right away," Tikki commented as she watched Marinette send the message. "Foxes tend to be better than the rest of the holders at things like that."

"I have perfectly good excuses-!" Marinette started indignantly, then paused and flushed as she remembered a few of the excuses she had tried to use over the past few weeks. "...er, some of the time."

"So how soon are you planning on giving the Bee to Chloe?" Tikki asked, mercifully not commenting on Marinette's claim. "It's in a safe spot now, right?"

"It is," Marinette agreed. "And I thought I would wait for a few fights first. Otherwise, we would go from having one person leaving class during akuma attacks to having _three_ people trying to leave without any kind of gradual change."

"That _could_ be a problem," Tikki agreed. "Hopefully next year you aren't in the same class as Chloe, so there won't be as many Miraculous holders in the same class. But in the meantime, I think the plan you and Master Fu came up with is good, with having alternating teams out. You'll still have to leave to purify the akuma at the end of fights, of course, but you won't be gone as long."

"But I can't do that until the newbies are trained in," Marinette said with a sigh. "And if Alya and Chloe can't get along, then dealing with that will slow everything down even more."

"At least the spring break will start soon," Tikki pointed out as Marinette typed out another message to Alya. "You can do most of your training in then, and hopefully by the time it's over the fox and bee will be ready to go on their own."

"I hope Chloe doesn't come up with any last-minute plans to spend the spring break elsewhere," Marinette said dryly. "That would mess things up. And hopefully the threat of disappointing Ladybug is enough incentive for her to actually, y'know, not skip when she has something else she'd rather be doing." She finished her text and sent it.

 _Marinette: Alya?! What's going on? Do I need to come over there or are you gonna respond soon?_

She wasn't expecting an answer. If she knew Alya like she thought she did, Alya was either interrogating Trixx or already out running over the rooftops.

Tikki giggled. "It won't just be fear of letting you down. Pollen will probably threaten to sting Chloe if she shirks her duties. Chloe won't be the first difficult holder she's had, after all."

Marinette let out the breath she hadn't know she was holding. " _Whew._ That's good."

"I know you still have reservations about giving Chloe a Miraculous, and I don't blame you," Tikki continued. "But believe me, if I had had concerns about any of your choices that couldn't be addressed, I would have said something."

Even though Marinette had known that in the back of her mind, it helped to have Tikki actually say it aloud. "That... is good to know." She glanced down at her phone and typed out another message, trying to play the part of the curious friend without going so far that would add too much to Alya's stress.

 _Marinette: What's going oooooon?_

"Should I call if Alya doesn't respond soon?" Marinette wondered aloud as she sent the text. "I mean, on one hand, since I know what she's going through that might be a little mean. But on the other hand..."

"Would you call if she sent those messages and you didn't know what she was talking about?"

Marinette didn't even have to think about it. "Of course!"

"Then do it!"

Five minutes later, Marinette was holding her phone up to her ear as Alya's phone rang on the other end of the line. It rang once, twice, three times-

And then Alya picked up, sounding _very_ frazzled. "Hello?"

Marinette tried not to smile. "Alya! What was with those texts? What's going on?"

"Oh, those! Ha ha, oh, uh..." Alya was definitely floundering a bit. "Those! Um, it was something... for the Ladyblog! Yeah, and there was a video someone submitted that, ah, looked like maybe there was- anyway, it ended up being fairly obviously doctored once I looked at it again. So I just got all excited over nothing. Yup. That- that was it."

"Oh." Marinette made herself sound disappointed. "Okay. But why didn't you respond to my texts, then?"

There was a long pause, and then Alya was scrambling for an excuse again. "Sorry about that! I, uh, I mean, my sisters were being a handful, so I had to watch them for a bit and I left my phone in my room and I just got back in when you called. So! Um! Yeah, that's all that's going on over here right now, thanks for calling, talktoyoutomorrowbye!"

 _Click_.

"Well, she'll improve with time," Tikki said with a giggle as Marinette put her phone back down on the desk. "Hopefully. That was a bit rough, but so were your excuses, especially at first."

"Hey!"

* * *

Vixen fit into the team with almost no problem. It took her a day longer to show up than Ladybug and Chat Noir had expected (they suspected that she had decided to practice her illusions at night when no one could see her before joining a fight, probably so that she wouldn't look so inexperienced when she _did_ meet up with them for the first time; Ladybug also suspected that Alya had spent that time perfecting her illusion of herself carrying a cell phone around, because she had seen "Alya" crouched behind a bush for that fight, and the Ladyblog had live-streamed the whole thing) and she was _very_ excitable, but she wasn't a bad fighter, considering her lack of experience.

"This is so _awesome!_ " Vixen squealed three attacks in as her illusions distracted the akuma and Ladybug snagged the corrupted item. Moments later, the Miraculous Healing Light swept over the city and Vixen banished her remaining illusions. "And I'm not complaining at all but, like, why did you guys need another Miraculous holder? I thought the two of you were doing fine on your own."

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a look. "We _have_ been," Ladybug agreed, figuring that this was as good of a time as any to tell Alya- sorry, _Vixen_ \- what was going on, since there weren't any crowds nearby. "But we've also been stretched a little thin in our civilian lives, what with having to run off for all of the akuma attacks. So we're adding you and one more holder, and then we'll hopefully have alternating teams going out so that we aren't so stressed."

Vixen blinked. "You're adding another person?"

Ladybug exchanged another look with Chat Noir before answering. "Yeah, there should be another user joining us soon." The two of them had agreed that it might be best if they pretended not to know who the new users were, mostly to justify keeping their own identities secret from their new teammates. She felt bad for stretching the truth a bit in front of her own teammate, but she and Tikki (and she and Chat Noir) had agreed that it was for the best.

"Are we going to learn how to purify akumas, then? If you aren't going to be coming to every fight?" Vixen wanted to know. "And how are we supposed to repair all of the damage to the city? I thought that only you had the power to do that!"

"Wow, you catch on fast," Chat Noir said with a slightly stunned look. "Yes, Ladybug is the only one with that power. The second team will just get the possessed item off of the supervillain, and then Ladybug's kwami will let her know that she has to come find you guys so she can purify the akuma and repair everything."

Vixen looked a bit relieved. "Okay. Okay, that makes sense. And, uh, how are you guys dividing up the teams? Will it change, like, every week, or stay the same, or...?"

"Once Chat Noir and I are confident that you and the other newbie have the hang of fighting, then you two will be a team and Chat Noir and I will stay a team," Ladybug told her, glancing over and seeing Vixen's expression fall just a bit. That wasn't a surprise; after all, Alya was a _really_ big fan of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and being able to work fight alongside the famous duo was no doubt a dream come true. "But that doesn't mean that we won't ever fight together again! If there's ever a fight when we don't have to be somewhere else- or if you don't have to be somewhere else- then we can join the other team. It would probably help end the fight sooner."

Vixen's brow furrowed. "But, if the fights would be shorter...wouldn't it make sense to have all of us out there?"

"It's more about spreading the absences out," Chat Noir pointed out. "Fights usually take a certain amount of time minimum no matter what. And if, ah, anything else ever comes up and we _do_ need two teams out, then we'll be ready."

Vixen's eyes narrowed at that, suddenly suspicious. "You think something else is gonna come up."

"We're just being prepared," Ladybug claimed. "Chat Noir and I learned how to fight on the fly. With this, you do at least have a grace period before you're on your own."

A lie, of course, considering their worries about the Peacock Miraculous. But the two more experienced superheroes didn't want to freak out their new teammates _too_ early on.

"If you say so," Vixen said somewhat grudgingly after a moment's pause. "Well, it'll be cool to have my own partner, I guess. Hopefully they show up soon." She glanced around one last time before shrugging and taking a step back. "See you next time!"

"Bye!" Ladybug and Chat Noir called together as Vixen took off. They paused for a moment before heading in the opposite direction, making sure they were out of sight of both Vixen and the rest of the public.

"How soon are you giving out the Bee Miraculous?" Chat Noir asked as they paused on top of a long line of buildings. "You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

"I haven't changed my mind," Ladybug assured him. "And I think maybe tomorrow. I overheard Chloe talking about having a manicure appointment tomorrow afternoon, so I know when she'll be out of the room and exactly when she'll be back. Then I can go in right before she gets back so there'll be less chance of some hotel employee wandering in to clean up her room and disturbing it."

"So if there's an akuma tomorrow night, we'll have a newbie to train in," Chat Noir finished. "Good to know." He grinned. "I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Chloe opens her Miraculous. I didn't have a crazy over-the-top reaction when I got Plagg, but she's the type to _completely_ freak out."

"I freaked out when I got Tikki," Ladybug admitted, biting her lip as her expression turned sheepish. "I started screaming and throwing things and tried trapping her in a jar."

Chat Noir howled with laughter at that, his eyes crinkling up in amusement. "Oh my _god_ , Bugaboo. Really? You tried trapping her in a jar?"

Ladybug pouted at him, though the corners of her mouth were twitching in amusement despite herself. "I wasn't expecting a talking bug-god to appear in the middle of my room!"

Chat Noir only cackled.

* * *

(At approximately 5:35 the next afternoon, a bloodcurdling scream was heard from the top floor of the Grand Paris. When questioned, Chloe claimed that she had no idea what anyone was talking about.)

* * *

Surprising both Ladybug and Chat Noir, Chloe made a pretty good superhero teammate. Once she realized that her supersuit kept her fingernails from breaking or chipping, she didn't hesitate to dash in and really get involved in the fight. She joined Chat Noir in taunting the akumas, distracting them as Vixen or Ladybug dashed in to make a grab for the corrupted item. She didn't hang off of Ladybug like she had in the past, making both Ladybug and Chat Noir wonder how thorough Pollen had been with her first talking-to with Chloe. It seemed like the kwami had anticipated all of Chloe's possible bad behaviors and addressed them before she could become a problem during a fight.

However, even Pollen initially had some trouble getting Chloe to miss her various appointments. Queen Bee only grudgingly left her evening whirlpool soak three days into her superhero gig, and then she groaned her way through a fight that made her miss a much-anticipated hair salon appointment. Her pouting made Ladybug smile (though she did try to hide it behind her hand); after all, Chloe had certainly made her miss more than a few fun activities when she upset someone to the point of akumatization and made Marinette leave whatever she was doing to go deal with the problem.

(Karma was _amazing_.)

After the first week, Ladybug and Chat Noir started retreating and letting Vixen and Queen Bee practice fighting alone. The two of them had picked up on their powers impressively fast- both of the more experienced superheroes suspected that there was probably some late-night practice going on- and their teamwork had clicked pretty quickly as well.

(Ladybug was very, _very_ glad that the secret identity policy was so important. If not...

Well, she didn't even want to think about it. Alya would _not_ want to work with Chloe, and Ladybug was pretty sure that the feeling was probably mutual.)

The new duo got the stamp of approval just before spring break ended and school started up again. The approval came just in the nick of time, because then they could discuss who was going to be fighting when.

"It would probably work better if we switched off attacks instead of days," Ladybug said as they sat at the top of the Eiffel Tower. "That way, if there's more than one attack per day, we won't miss too much school, and it's a better division of the work."

"What about if we don't have school and it's not our turn to fight?" Vixen wanted to know. "You said before that we can just join the other team, right?"

"As long as you don't have something else you need to do," Chat Noir pointed out. "Like, I have a lot of activities that I'm supposed to be at, and people _do_ notice when I'm missing. And right now, I'm _really_ behind on homework and studying. If you can come, then do. But I know I have to get back on top of my studies after missing so much class and having not as much study time as usual, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ladybug has been having the same problems."

"It'll be nice to be able to actually get my grades back up again," Ladybug agreed. "And I have some other stuff to do at home that I've been neglecting, too. I need to come at the end of fights still, obviously, but that'll take a couple minutes instead of, y'know, up to a couple hours."

Queen Bee let out a loud groan. "A couple _hours?_ "

"If there's a particularly difficult fight, anyone who's able to come should," Ladybug said quickly before Queen Bee could start complaining too much. She had to really work to keep calm when Chloe had the audacity to complain about the frequency and duration of some of the fights; after all, it wasn't as though all of the akumatizations Chloe had caused were the shortest or most conveniently timed. "Like, use common sense if it isn't your turn to be out. If no one has shown up yet and they fight hasn't literally _just_ started and it's close, it would probably make sense to jump in. Something might have happened to the people who were supposed to be fighting."

"But for normal fights, just pay attention whose turn it is," Chat Noir chimed in. "Most fights aren't that difficult, just time-consuming. And disruptive to our daily lives."

"We can take the first fight of the week, I think," Vixen offered, exchanging a glance with Queen Bee. The other superhero nodded. "Then you guys aren't missing class right away after break."

Ladybug and Chat Noir both grinned.

"That sounds _great_."

* * *

Their new plan worked well right off the bat. While both Adrien and Marinette were missing more class than they (or their parents) would have liked, the amount of class that they were missing had halved. Either Vixen or Queen Bee's kwami would contact Tikki when the fight was over (thankfully they didn't need to detransform for that to work; how they did it Marinette didn't know), and Marinette would excuse herself to the bathroom, transform, go tearing across the city to wherever Queen Bee and Vixen were, break the corrupted item, purify the akuma, and restore all of the damage to the city. Thankfully she didn't need to use her Lucky Charm in order to use her restorative powers, which meant that she could get back to school pretty quickly via yo-yo.

(It was _really nice_.)

For his part, Adrien was enjoying being able to be more on top of his schoolwork and not having to miss as many photoshoots and fencing lessons. It was a bit of a bummer that he didn't get to see Ladybug as much, but it was honestly worth it for some piece of mind and less nagging and disappointed looks from both Nathalie and his father.

But while Ladybug and Chat Noir were now only attending half of the akuma fights, both the city and Hawkmoth had yet to figure that out. During their first properly solo fight, Vixen had made Ladybug and Chat Noir illusions that hung back as the other two fought. It had worked so well that she had just kept doing it for all of their fights.

Likewise, the city had no idea that Alya wasn't at most of the attacks in person- or, rather, as a _civilian_ person. Vixen made an Alya illusion for every attack that she normally could have gotten to, and she had even gotten a few "anonymous submissions" of _very_ good videos of Vixen and Queen Bee fights that took place when Alya _should_ have been in school. Ladybug and Chat Noir had both giggled at the cover excuse, because of _course_ Alya wouldn't let being a superhero herself get in the way of her superhero blog and of _course_ she would find some way to actually _benefit_ the Ladyblog using her powers. Trixx had probably put her foot down about having "anonymous submissions" for every fight that Alya shouldn't have been able to get to (or, rather, every Queen Bee and Vixen fight she shouldn't have been able to get to), just as to not raise suspicion, but no kwami could _completely_ get between Alya and the Ladyblog.

That wasn't to say that things were going completely smoothly. Their teachers had raised an eyebrow at both Alya and Chloe's absences. They commented on it more than once, asking both Sabrina and Marinette where their respective friends had gone, but both girls simply shrugged.

 _Technically_ , Marinette wasn't lying. She knew that Alya had gone to an akuma fight, but where that fight was she didn't _exactly_ know. She wouldn't know until Tikki gave her the signal and she could slip away, transform, and check her yo-yo. It wasn't difficult to get away- her normal bathroom excuse worked like a charm every time, despite her long record of vanishing when she supposedly went to the bathroom during class. Marinette was glad that it worked- after all, she didn't want to use the excuse of looking for Alya, mostly because she doesn't want to give the teacher any ideas about having Alya look for _her_ when she was the one missing, and because she didn't want to draw any more attention to Alya being gone.

(It was lying-by-exclusion, perhaps, but no one could argue that it wasn't for a good cause.)

Less than a month after the two new Miraculous joined the group, there was an interesting drop in the number of akumatizations at the school, even though there were still _plenty_ of potential candidates. There were fewer akumatized guests at the Great Paris as well, and fewer akumatized hair stylists, nail salon workers, spa employees...

Basically, anywhere that Chloe Bourgeois normally frequented and normally caused akumas had seen a drop.

(Ladybug and Chat Noir spent an entire minute after one of their fights snickering about that; it seemed that despite their earlier reservations, Chloe _had_ been the perfect candidate for Pollen.)

Still, a drop in Chloe-caused akumatizations didn't necessarily mean a corresponding drop in the overall number of akumatizations. Hawkmoth replaced upset, bulled collège students with disgruntled office workers and exhausted, travel-worn tourists. During one particularly stressful week at City Capitol, the mayor caused three akumatizations in an afternoon and probably would have continued the streak had Chloe not stormed up to his office and thrown a fit about the disruptions. Chat Noir, eavesdropping outside the Mayor's window as Chloe scolded her father, reported that she had also pointed out the economic impacts of akumas rampaging through the city. A week later, a law ordering the investigation of businesses and organizations causing unusually high rates of akumatizations for employees or customers was signed into being.

It was a somewhat crude attempt to help and wasn't terribly helpful- most businesses only had one akuma every few months, which wasn't a high rate of akumatization at all- but the intention was there.

"Well, at least there's _attempts_ to help now," Chat Noir pointed out quietly to Ladybug when the Mayor announced the news at a press conference. Queen Bee was looking rather pleased with herself at the other end of their superhero line-up, and neither Chat Noir nor Ladybug wanted to burst her bubble now that she was actively trying to help the situation. "Maybe we can address the crowds that insist on staying too close to fights next."

"Ah, the _possibilities_ ," Ladybug said a bit dreamily, settling back on the rooftop they were sitting on and watching the Mayor field questions from reporters and civilians alike. "Getting the crowds out of the way, maybe we can get the mayor to commission some sort of app to let us know faster when an akuma appears and where it is... I like this. I like it very much."

"Don't get too comfy," Chat Noir warned her, voice dropping even softer. "You know what Master Fu and Wayazz said about what they've been feeling around the Peacock Miraculous. Hawkmoth might not be able to use it himself, but he definitely has it."

"It's not great news," Ladybug agreed, dipping her head closer to Chat Noir so Vixen and Queen Bee wouldn't overhear. "But at least we have a way to get a little prior warning before anyone new shows up and the others have gotten really good at fighting. That's better than we were doing earlier in the year." She glanced up at Chat Noir with a soft smile, and he felt his heart skip a beat. "And I think we can take on pretty much anything together, hmm, _chaton?_ "

"Yeah," Chat Noir breathed, unable to argue. A matching smile spread across his face as he watched Ladybug turn her attention back to the crowd below. "Yeah, I think we can."

* * *

 _A/N: This story is now complete! I hope you enjoyed it :) Please review, it really makes my day!  
_


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